Watch our national ad: #UNTOpenSkies, airing during football games this season.

Straight from Smatresk

Dear Alum,

This fall, UNT welcomed its newest incoming freshman class — and the most siblings I've seen start college together with the Diaz quintuplets (pictured below with me and their parents). The Class of 2018, our continuing students, and faculty and staff have a bright year ahead.

I'm especially proud that more than 4,500 soaring Eagles have opted in to the Eagle Express Tuition Plan and half of our freshman class chose the plan, committing to graduating in four years.

It's a great time to be a part of the Mean Green Nation, and in the business of educating tomorrow's leaders. Higher education can lead to bright futures, and it's also an economic driver. With every student we graduate, UNT is doing our part to boost our nation's economy. I'm a true believer that public higher education is the most transformative force in the world. A recent study says that public higher education is the best way to get ahead in life (it doesn't take an Ivy League degree).

I hope you're as excited as I am about where we're going and the transformation taking place here.

Let's pack the stands with green pride this football season. Join me in supporting Head Football Coach Dan McCarney and the Mean Green at our season opener Aug. 30 against the UT Longhorns in Austin. And be sure to come out for our first home game on Sept. 6 against SMU. I'm proud to bleed green and watch our 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl champions vie for another fantastic season in Conference USA.

It's a bird... it's a plane... no, it's the innovation of electrical engineering researchers Shengli Fu and Yan Wan buzzing the skies. The researchers' six-leg spider-like drones are capable of taking to the air and creating Internet hotspots to provide Wi-Fi access and cell phone coverage after disasters, restoring communication to help rescuers save lives. Watch KERA's coverage on their breakthrough.

Meet the family

When we come together as a family, great things happen. Family Weekend,Sept. 19-21, is a perfect way to experience student life, celebrate our closeness and show your green pride. To help you join in the fun, I’m giving away two pairs of tickets for a family of four to attend the Sept. 20 Mean Green vs. Nicholls State game. To enter, email president@unt.edu by Aug. 31 and include your name and address.

What does junior Lindsey Smith have in common with Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis and Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen? A love of archery. I'm excited to see Lindsey, a mechanical and energy engineering major with a 4.0 GPA, break out in her own starring role in the sport, earning a bronze medal and placing No. 7 in the world during competitions this summer. The compound bow shooter is among many of our students — like football player Derek Akunne — excelling in athletic competitions and in the classroom.